The people who have come through Balance House have given us a great honor by giving us the chance of helping them recover. At 270+ strong, our alumni have turned into something we could have never imagined. In 2016, we handed out 53 more alumni jackets for those who have over a year sober (since our last alumni event in 2015) at our annual alumni dinner hosted at Salt Lake’s Leonardo Museum at which 155 people attended (all BH alumni). This might not mean anything to you, but it should tell you that not only have we built a family out here, but also, and more importantly, our program is working…it’s working despite the fact we aren’t scheduling out every minute of every day for every client. Our program works, the caveat being the resident does their part (which is really just honoring their word). Balance House alumni earn their keep by continuing to recover and staying a part of our community within a community...and we help them stay engaged by giving them jackets with patches and pins and facilitating and funding social events like sports games and annual events.

It’s important to mention that 75 percent of our clients come from out of state. At last count, 85 percent of those who have come to Balance House choose to make Salt Lake City their home after they leave our program. What people find when they come is an amazingly beautiful place surrounded by 12,000 foot mountains. Our properties are very close to some of the best ski and snowboarding resorts in the world, three of which were in Forbes Magazine’s 2017 Top Ten Ski Resorts in North America (2017), which are: #2, Snowbird (35 minutes away) #3, Alta (35 minutes away) #8, Park City (an hour away) and just missing the top ten at #14, Solitude (35 minutes away).

Most importantly, what our clients find is a city that is impossible to outgrow. Utah has the sixth lowest unemployment rate in the country, which is now at 3.1 percent according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There are also great educational opportunities through Salt Lake Community College, The University of Utah, and Westminster College, if getting back into school is most important.

There is also a robust recovery community here with over 400 meetings a week and one of the largest sober softball leagues in the country. In 2016, there were 55 teams and over 500 participants. The season runs from March to October each year. Balance House provides for 3 teams, one house team and two alumni teams. Don’t worry if you are not into sports…it is not a requirement to play. There are plenty of other things to do!